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Research Translation & Commercialisation
The University of Melbourne Dental School has a proud history of research excellence across therapeutics, medical devices, digital health technologies and other biologics products, resulting in numerous technology licenses and spin-out companies. Leading breakthroughs and developing ground-breaking innovations include:
- Vaccines for P. gingivalis (spin-out: Denteric)
- Drugs4dent®, a digital platform for safe medication management by dental professionals co-branded with MIMS, Australia's leading drug information provider.
- Novel dental implants for patients with low bone volume (developing in collaboration with Signature Orthopaedics)
- Casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP - Recaldent™) (licenced to GC Dental)
- Digitally-enabled data solutions for dental prescribing
- Novel antimicrobials addressing antimicrobial resistance
More broadly, the Faculty of Medicine has also collaboratively enabled the development of the early detection of dental caries (BlueCheck™). Incisive Technologies (manufacturer of BlueCheck™) has achieved US FDA Clearance and launched in the US in June 2024.
The University is also advancing the Rectangular Block Implant (RBI), a novel solution for low bone volume dental implant cases. With support from the Australian Economic Accelerator Seed Grant, the RBI project is transitioning the implant design through rigorous manufacturing processes compliant with ISO13485 medical device standards. Following the successful first implantation in 2023, the University has partnered with Signature Orthopaedics to leverage their certified manufacturing capabilities, paving the way for further clinical studies and eventual commercialisation of this innovative implant technology.
Translational Research Capabilities
The University of Melbourne Dental School plays host to critical translational research infrastructure and capabilities, including:
Clinical
- A University-run, private dental clinic with an extensive track record of delivering clinical studies
- Centralised support for clinical trials (institutional review board/human ethics committees, governance, and other academic research support functions)
- Access to networks of other clinical trial units across the Parkville Biomedical Precinct
Devices and Materials
- Linkages and collaborations with the University of Melbourne Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology and Faculty of Science, with deep expertise in materials development and characterisation
Biologics and Therapeutics
- Expertise in development of vaccines for oral infectious agents
- Exosome-enhanced drugs delivery platforms
Platform Technologies and Capabilities
The University of Melbourne Dental School has access to platform capabilities and expertise that enable the use of the latest techniques and approaches across imaging and materials characterisation, including:
The Australian Advantage
Australian Research & Development Tax Incentive
The Australian Government’s Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive encourages industry investment in research and development. The incentive provides businesses investing in eligible research and development with tax offsets. Various boutique and multi-national tax advisory organisations can assist in understanding eligibility criteria and how to access this incentive.
For more information, visit Research and Development Tax Incentive.
Mature and established clinical trials environment
Australia is an attractive place to undertake trials and research. The clinical trial industry represents a significant opportunity for Australia.
There are many benefits to running your clinical trial in Australia. Australia has:
- some of the world's best researchers and health professionals
- a world-class research infrastructure
- a stable socio-political environment
- high standards that ensure confidence in the scientific conclusions reached by clinical trials conducted in Australia
- a robust intellectual property system
- a simple and efficient regulatory regime
Australia has a strong reputation for the quality of its scientific and medical research. Australia is internationally recognised for its highly trained clinical workforce and the high-quality data produced by its experienced, trained (and accredited) research teams.
Clinical trials in Australia follow accepted international good clinical practice (GCP) standards of conduct, such as those developed by the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Australia has a fast and pragmatic regulatory pathway for clinical trials. The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration administers 2 schemes for the importation into or supply in Australia of unapproved therapeutic goods for use in a clinical trial, the Clinical Trial Notification (CTN) scheme, and the Clinical Trial Approval (CTA) scheme. Australia has a National Mutual Acceptance system for mutual acceptance of scientific and ethical review of multi-centre human research projects conducted in publicly funded health services across jurisdictions, including all major States.
Australia is a multicultural country with a diverse population that can meet recruitment needs an informed and willing population of potential trial participants a higher level of research participation than you would expect from a population of our size.
Australian clinical practices and some aspects of its healthcare system are similar to the United States, Canada and most European countries. Australia’s diverse population means researchers can recruit a similar patient population to those countries.
For more information, visit Australia a go to destination for clinical trials.
Funding Opportunities
The Australian Government offers targeted schemes to enable research translation, as well as programs for SMEs to engage with research organisations. For more information about availability and suitability of these schemes, please contact us.
New hope for patients who couldn’t get dental implants
One in ten patients with missing teeth can't be helped with a traditional dental implant. University of Melbourne researchers have designed an innovative implant to help these patients. The research team seeks connections to industry to take the first Australian-designed dental implant to patients around the world.
Missing teeth can threaten our health and happiness. But some patients can’t get dental implants.
With a unique design to make most of even reduced bone volume, the Rectangular Block Implant offers a solution.
Supported by the Australian Economic Accelerator Seed Grant, the project is progressing towards scalable manufacture under ISO13485 standards. In 2023, the first implant was successfully placed. In collaboration with Signature Orthopaedics, the RBI design is now being transferred to certified manufacturing processes to enable further clinical studies and future commercialisation.
“The dental profession has a very good understanding of how dental implants behave in the oral environment, setting a high benchmark for patient-centred care,” says University of Melbourne Associate Professor (Prosthodontics) Roy Judge.
MIMS Drugs4dent®
MIMS Drugs4dent® is the first Australian medicines information resource designed specifically for dental practitioners. It provides succinct, dental-relevant information for practitioners in clinical settings to understand the effect of medications on dental treatment and support clinicians to accurately and safely prescribe.
With drug information constantly evolving, MIMS Drugs4dent® provides up-to-date dental-relevant information on prescription drugs, over-the-counter products and complementary medicines, so dental practitioners will be alerted to the impacts drugs can have on dental procedures. Drugs4dent® provides clinical decision support to improve medication safety by including drug and allergy interactions, pregnancy and lactation recommendations, and paediatric dosing guidance for dental indications.
A pioneering digital platform, MIMS Drugs4dent® exemplifies successful research commercialisation. Now available through MIMS, Australia’s leading medicines information provider, it offers trusted, evidence-based prescribing support for dental professionals. This co-branding partnership underscores the strong research foundations and clinical relevance of the tool.